New Jersey

New Jersey, which once led the region in energy efficiency programs, has pursued a less aggressive path than many states in the Northeast or Mid-Atlantic. The state continues to operate energy efficiency programs under the guidance of its new Comprehensive Resource Analysis (currently 2014-2017), which determines three year budgets and savings goals for programs operated by the New Jersey Clean Energy Program (NJCEP).

For 2016, the NJCEP will see a change in program delivery methods, modeled upon new vendor AEG’s proposal for program administration, which focuses on program delivery methods that integrate private financing, the Clean Power Plan, and deferred distribution system investments as a potential source of funding outside the Systems Benefit Charge.

The state is also in the midst of revising its Energy Master Plan, which was last updated in 2011. The plan will consider emerging issues such as the Energy Resilience Bank, emergency preparedness, microgrids, and distributed energy resources, yet makes no mention of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), which the state officially withdrew from in 2015 after several years of non-participation.

Gov. Chris Christie continued to brush aside calls for the state to rejoin the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, as clean energy proponents noted that RGGI participation would help the state comply with the coming Clean Air Act (CAA) carbon regulations. Instead, Christie’s Department of Environmental Protection filed comments opposed to the proposed CAA 111 (d) regulations.

Complimentary Policies

New Jersey became one of the first in the region to update its building energy code to reference the 2015 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC).